October is Lewy Body Dementia Awareness Month
The Lewy Body Dementia Awareness Movement is a grass roots effort to increase LBD awareness amongst the general public and the medical community. They are making October “A Month to Remember”.
Lewy Body Dementia shares characteristics with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and is often misdiagnosed.
Lewy Body Dementia (also known as Lewy Body disease, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies) is the cause of approximately 10% of cases of dementia. LBD is caused by abnormal structures called Lewy bodies that develop in regions of the brain involved in movement and thought.
Lewy bodies, named after Dr. Frederic Lewy who first identified them in the early 1900s, are small protein deposits found in nerve cells. Their presence disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. Researchers have yet to fully understand why Lewy bodies occur in the brain and how they cause damage.
Lewy bodies are also found in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. Many people who are initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease go on to develop dementia that closely resembles LBD.
Visit the Lewy Body Dementia Association for tools and information to help you raise LBD awareness in your community.